College Hockey:

The ECAC West will have a slightly new look this season. The conference still doesn’t have an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, but it has a sixth school again in nascent program Nazareth. It’s the first time the league will be at at a half-dozen teams since Lebanon Valley College downgraded to club status in 2010.

Manhattanville has its third head coach in three years in former Valiants skater Arlen Marshall, while Nazareth make its inaugural foray into NCAA hockey under former Clarkson University head coach George Roll. Utica will look to build on its 32 wins combined the past two seasons, while 2008-09 NCAA Division III champion Neumann will be seeking its eighth straight winning campaign.

Elmira will be looking to get back to the national tournament for a sixth straight season, after a second straight trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals and a top-10 final national ranking. Hobart College won an ECAC West Tournament last season that was rife with upsets, ultimately blanking Neumann, 5-0, in the title tilt. The questions now are, can the Statesmen repeat as league champs? And can the league again get back to the NCAAs, and go even further?

He’ll have nine of his top 10 scorers back from a year ago, as the Statesmen attempt to not only repeat, but get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008-09. Hobart, which also had the top power play (23.2 percent) and penalty kill (86.9 percent) in the ECAC West in conference games last year, also returns top goaltender Martin Ausserhofer for his final campaign.

“We’re returning 22 guys, and have our goalies and our leading scorer back,” said coach Gary Heenan, now in his 13thyear at Utica. “I like this group. It’s probably the oldest we’ve had since 2005.”

Top goaltender Evan Smith is indeed back, as is 2011-12 leading scorer Evan Chlanda, who paced the Pioneers in both goals and points. Eight of the Pioneers’ other top 10 point-producers from last winter also return, as does netminder Nick Therrien, who appeared in 15 contests a year ago.

“It’ll be a fight every single night, and Nazareth will add to that,” added Heenan of the ECAC West. “I like our group. I like our leadership, and it’s about just being prepared every game.”

The Knights lost their top two scorers, and three of their top five; but still return six skaters who attained double digits in points. Five defensemen who played last year are also back, although Neumann graduated its top two netminders.

“We’re looking for some of our more experienced players to take the next step, and for us to be successful, we will need some of our young guys to make an immediate impact,” added Dawes. “The league as always will be one of the toughest and most competitive in the nation.”

All three goaltenders are back at Murray Athletic Center this year, led by Darren McDonald, who has played in 49 career games entering this fall. Elmira will also look to maintain its prowess on special teams, as the Soaring Eagles led the ECAC West in goals per conference game on both offense (4.23) and defense (2.92) in 2011-12.

“I was very fortunate with the timing, and I’m excited to get started,” said Marshall, who was promoted in August and is just the third men’s hockey head coach in school history.

The biggest concern is replacing workhorse netminder Pierre-Olivier Lemieux, who played in 68 games over the past three seasons and posted 41 victories. The Valiants still return seven of their top 10 scorers from last season, including leading scorer Scott Hudson.

“Our goal is to get better every day, and that’s what we preach to them,” said Marshall. “Every conference game is like a mini-war, and it will probably be even stronger with Nazareth . It’s going to be a strong conference again, and it should be fun.”

Nazareth College Golden Flyers2012-13 Coaches Poll: 6th2012-13 USCHO Predicted Finish: 6th 2011-12 Overall Record: First Season2011-12 ECAC West Record: First Season2011-12 ECAC West Finish: First SeasonKey Departures: First SeasonArrivals: First SeasonKey Players: Andrew Francis, Tom Seravalli, Ben Waldman, Reed Smith, Jordan Ciccarello “We feel there will be some growing pains being a member of the ECAC West, arguably the best league in D-III top to bottom,” said inaugural Nazareth head coach and former Clarkson mentor George Roll. “We are pleased to date with our team, and feel we have the capability to compete night in and night out.”

The Golden Flyers will feature a roster with more than 25 freshmen, but also five players who skated at the NCAA level last season.

“We will be a hard-working team that will need to manufacture goals by working hard and getting to the net,” said Roll. “We have very good leadership with Ben Waldman (formerly of Fredonia), Jordan Ciccarello (from Sacred Heart) and Scott Dawson serving as captains.

“We will need contributions for all four lines, and will need scoring by committee,” added Roll. “We feel we have strong goaltending with both Ed Zdolshek and Joe Gladnick.”

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